Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden defeated Republican Party’s nominee and incumbent President Donald Trump on Saturday evening to become the 46th President of the United States of America.
US President-elect Joseph Biden has always been a strong supporter of India and India-US partnership since his days as a Senator (1973-2008) and later as a vice-president (2009-2016).
As a senator, and as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he consistently lent his support to several resolutions in support of India.
In fact, in 2006, three years before he became the Vice-President of the US, Biden announced his vision for the future of US-India relations: “My dream is that in 2020, the two closest nations in the world will be India and the United States,” he had said.
When India and the US began negotiations under President Bush and then Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to conclude a civilian nuclear deal, then-senator Biden was a critical ally of India in the Senate. He traveled to India (with then senators Chuck Hagel and John Kerry) in early 2008 before the US Congress approved the nuclear deal with India. He was a consistent proponent of the deal and certainly was critical to its success.
Joe Biden was also supportive of India’s aspiration to play a more active role in the global arena and called for a new framework that would give a “seat at the high table” to all major players in Asia, including India.
In his campaign documents this year, Biden reiterated his vision for the US-India partnership. In the run-up to the elections on August 15, Biden spoke of the “special bond” between India and the United States, which had deepened over the years. He spoke of standing with India in facing threats in the region and on its borders and highlighted that the world would be a safer place if the two countries came closer together. He also called for expanding two-way trade and tackling big global challenges, including climate change and global health security together with India.
However, the Biden administration might have its differences with the present Narendra Modi led government. Biden, in the past, on the record made it clear that he backs a liberal India and cares about it. He had also expressed disapproval of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Also, Narendra Modi campaigning for Trump prior to the US elections does not help.
But, judging by his past records it is evident that Biden’s win in the election can be beneficial to India, as he has always advocated a strong relationship with the country. Every US President has made the Indo-US ties better than what he inherited from his predecessor over the last two decades. So there should be no doubt that Biden won’t do the same. However, Indo-US ties in the Biden administration will be more on the government-to-government front rather than the personalized format which PM Modi prefers.